Ron Richards of iFanBoy shaves off his sideburns

LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK — Marvel’s Secret Empire and DC’s The Button were big events everyone expected to kick-off this week. But one big event no one anticpated was when Ron Richards, one third of the iFanBoy podcast team, shaved off his famed sideburns.

“I took my Harry’s razor yesterday and just started shaving like normal,” said Richards by Skype. “Before I knew it I was trimming higher, and higher, and higher.”

Listeners to iFanBoy’s “Pick of the Week” podcasts are familiar with Richards’ sideburns. He regularly mentions them in Harry’s promos, noting how the single blade component of their razors has helped him shape the burns (a blade that will now have limited use for Richards.)

When asked how being free of the early ‘00s style made him feel, Richards responded: “from a scale of one being Electro and 10 being X-Men’s Dark Phoenix Saga, this is definitely Dark Phoenix Saga. For sure.”

Some listeners have speculated this big event was in reaction to the recent hair transplant of co-host Conor Kilpatrick. KilPatrick has been bragging recently on podcasts about the euphoria he feels when running his hand through his new locks, causing some to believe Richards was growing jealous of Kilpatrick’s joy.

“I think Josh has been picking up on the hostility, too,” said a longtime listener about third podcast host, Josh Flanagan. The listener asked to remain anoynomous as he’s still awaiting his patron superpower.

As of the date of this article, Flanagan has made no drastic changes to his facial hair.